Politic
by Sievert Dinar
Summary: You can never be sure whether you are safe in paradise


POLITIC by Sievert Dinar  
  
  
You better believe me. I don't own any of the characters I write  
about, and have no intentions of ever owning them or using them for  
personal financial gain. Of course, you might like to believe that  
this is a possibility, but it'll only see you behind the locked  
doors of a private hospital.  
  
  
  
  
I sit within my study and glare at the bottle of wine,  
wondering if this one is, too, poisoned. A lot of them seem to be,  
lately. Well, those delivered to my good self, anyway. It makes me  
smile, thinking of all those who wish to kill me. Yet there is  
nothing that they do that I have not already done. They are all so  
much younger than I, these days, and that age difference is my  
defence.  
  
I consider what I should do with the wine, its fruity bouquet  
and juicy redness moistens my pallet, wishing to taste its delights.  
But it is just as possible that I shall tip it into the garden,  
outside my window, like I had done with the last bottle. The  
thought of such a classic drop being brutalised in this fashion is  
enough to make me want to weep, but as long as I value my life, I  
must be careful.  
  
"Narcissus!" I snap my fingers, turning from the large wooden  
desk to the torchlit recesses of the doorway. It is amazing how I  
have come to revel in this dark little bolt-hole, especially  
considering my open nature as a young girl. Of course, everybody  
tended to take me at face value, not really seeing the depth that  
existed within me. Another defence I have used over the many years,  
the innocence of the apparent fool.  
  
My advisor, Narcissus, entered my study with the usual  
deference he would allow himself to show me, much as it would annoy  
me for him to do so. He was a short little man in his middle years,  
with thinning grey-brown hair and a round, rat-like face. His build  
was also thin, and the early signs of a hunch were starting to show.  
All those years of bowing and scraping must have their consequences,  
I suppose. The package was neatly completed with a simple, grey-  
blue gown that had seen too many years of wear, although it could be  
one of an entire collection, for I rarely saw him wear anything  
else. "You called for me, Ma'am?" He scampered across the floor,  
towards me, like a rodent.  
  
"Oh, of course I did. Who else can you see in this room?" I  
gestured around, expansively, to all the dark grottoes that existed  
within my study, filled with books and manuscripts, many of which I  
had produced myself. With the imbecility of one who was trying to  
hard to humour me, he glanced into these dark corners, then  
shrugged, smiling all the time. The sight of his crooked teeth gave  
me no pleasure. I sighed and waved at him, dismissively, then  
gestured to the bottle of wine. "I take it this burgundy was chosen  
by the chef, Thylassis?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Is there anything wrong with his choice?" He  
leaned forward, feigning concern. Always feigning concern for  
everything I did. I have had many advisors in my long life, and  
they all feigned concern for me. I knew better. Nobody ever rose  
to the position of a Senshi's advisor without harbouring some great  
ambition. Not within the body politic of the Council of Elders.  
Something we all had to learn quickly upon the death of Jupiter,  
slaughtered through the deceptive practices of her own advisor,  
Entrimedes. I was the one who had the pleasure of uncovering he and  
his band of co-conspirators... and the one who had the pleasure of  
putting they and their families to death. Of course, Narcissus also  
knew this.  
  
"No, there is nothing wrong with the choice. In fact, I would  
wish for you to commend Thylassis on his persistent brilliance in  
always choosing the right wine for the occasion."  
  
"When put like that, it almost sounds like he is doing it to  
spite you, Madam Venus." I shot Narcissus a look, and he shifted  
uncomfortably on his feet. He also knew when he'd overstepped the  
mark, the two-faced toad.  
  
"That is not what concerns me about this wine." Turning from  
him, I picked up the bottle of wine and poured a small amount into  
two silver goblets that had been sitting on my desk. Placing the  
bottle to one side, I watched as the candlelight, that illuminated  
my desk, reflected its flickering glow in a blood red mockery of its  
original radiance. Narcissus said nothing, merely watching my  
silent musings with a mixture of boredom and nervousness. Slowly, I  
reached out to one of the goblets with my right hand, picking it up  
and holding it aloft.  
  
I turned my chair to face him, directly, and swirled the wine  
in the goblet for the both of us to see. "This wine..." I started.  
"Has a sweet bouquet. It entices me into its bloody, yet ethereal  
depths. I feel most nervous about tasting a drop of this nature  
before another. Call it a whim of mine." I held out the goblet for  
Narcissus to take. He stared at it with wide eyes.  
  
"You wish for me to taste the first drop, my lady?" The  
concept seemed, somehow, abhorrent to him. I couldn't blame him.  
He knew, as well as I, that there was a possibility the wine was  
poisoned. Who knows, perhaps he was the one who arranged for it to  
be. Well, there was only one way to be sure, and I wasn't going to  
test it, myself.  
  
"Yes, Narcissus. I wish for you to drink it before I indulge  
myself. I feel, most desperately, like drinking myself into an  
oblivion tonight, and it would be a pity if that oblivion... were to  
be permanent." I underlined those final words with the air of  
threat for which they were intended. Not that they needed to be,  
for I could see that Narcissus understood, perfectly. He stared at  
the proffered goblet, almost shivering with fear and anticipation.  
Was it possible that he DID know something? That the wine was,  
indeed, poisoned?  
  
With a shaking hand, he took the goblet from mine. I  
retrieved the hand and placed it in my lap, sitting with a  
deliberate poise. I waited for him to sum up enough energy to down  
the beverage, brushing down at the creases in my bright orange and  
golden robes, noticing the stains and marks that came from wearing  
them for too long. Perhaps I was spending altogether too much time  
within the confines of my study? I pushed these thoughts away as he  
lifted the goblet to his lips and downed the wine with several deep  
gulps.  
  
He let out a breath as he finished, and allowed himself to  
lower the hand holding the goblet. Some of the wine ran from his  
lower lip, down his chin, which he wiped away with his other hand,  
shaking with a nervous tension. Then he started to breathe more  
easily. "It is most.... palatable, my Lady Venus." He bowed to me,  
slightly. "I highly recommend it to you."  
  
I watched him for several minutes, leaning back in my chair.  
He dared not move for fear of upsetting me. Only then, when he  
continued to show no signs of ill health, did I put out my hand for  
him to return the goblet. "So I see." I said, eventually. He  
closed his eyes and shivered, then opened them again, handing me the  
goblet. "Same time tomorrow, then?" I smiled, grimly. He nodded  
and bowed to me.  
  
"May I have permission to leave, Ma'am?"  
  
"Oh yes, indeed you may. In fact, you may go home early,  
tonight." He bowed again, then turned and strode to the doorway.  
Just as he reached it, I added.... "Send your wife and children my  
best wishes. I hope they continue to do well." He paused, not  
looking back at me.  
  
"I shall, my lady." And with that, he left, closing the door  
behind him.  
  
I returned to my desk, placing the empty goblet on the table  
and touching the second, gently. One day, they might finally get  
me. It might be one of a million ways, but they might just succeed.  
But tonight was not going to be that time.  
  
And I downed that goblet, as memories of innocent days,  
surrounded by the warmth of friends, filled my mind.  
  
  
  
Sievert Anathea Dienar sievertd@start.com.au 


End file.
